The White Stripes - "Fell In Love With a Girl"

In 2002, the video for the White Stripes' song "Fell in Love With a Girl" off of their 2001 "White Blood Cells" album was released, causing an instant sensation. Directed by experimental director Michel Gondry, the video featured stop-motion animation consisting entirely of Lego blocks.

Though the concept itself was very simple and straightforward, it hadn't yet been seen in music videos, nor had it been done anywhere quite as cleverly as Gondry's clip. As a result, the video helped catapult the song - which was a hit in its own right - to the top of the charts, earning national awareness for the White Stripes.

As an interesting side note, the kid playing with the blocks at the beginning of the video is director Gondry's son. Enjoy!



Artist: The White Stripes
Song: Fell in Love With a Girl
Animation: Original

Lou Reed - "My Name is Mok"

Many people are familiar with the R-Rated animated film "Heavy Metal". Animated in Canada in 1981, the film became well-known for subject matter that went well beyond the typical kiddie fare.

However, far fewer are familiar with another Canadian-animated film called "Rock & Rule". Released in 1983, two years after Heavy Metal, it also featured an adult story line, as well as musical performances by Deborah "Debbie" Harry, Lou Reed, Cheap Trick, Earth, Wind & Fire and Iggy Pop. However, the film failed to perform well and nearly bankrupted its producer, animation house Nelvana.

As the name suggests, the story of "Rock & Rule" is sort of a futuristic, post-apocalyptic "battle of the bands." Lou Reed's song, "My Name is Mok", features a video where film's villain appears in classically self-aggrandizing fashion. The villain's full name is "Mok Swagger", and he is supposedly a parody of famous rock legend Mick Jagger - a fact which, at the time, didn't sit well with the Stones' front man's attorneys.

To paraphrase the villainous rocker, Rock & Rule and the "My Name is Mok" clip just might just be "the greatest things since World War III." Check it out!


NOTE: The music video itself only runs until about 2:03 in the above clip.

Artist: Lou Reed
Song: My Name Is Mok
Animation: Rock & Rule (feature film)

The Beatles - "Yellow Submarine"

All right, so we've gone all the way back to 1986 with Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". But what about before then? Was the world a dark, dreary place with no music set to animation?

Of course not.

MTV, in its original form, was instrumental (no pun intended) in bringing a great many animation-filled music videos to the TV-watching public. However, examples of animated music videos existed long before the cable network did. One such example is the title track from legendary band The Beatles's 1968 film, "Yellow Submarine". The clip is well-known for its trippy, psychadelic style, and the soundtrack for the film became an integral part of the Beatles' discography.

One of the hallmarks of the hippie-driven psychadelic era of the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Yellow Submarine clip is one of the great pioneers of animated musical synergy. Groovy, man, groovy.



Artist: The Beatles
Song: Yellow Submarine
Animation: Yellow Submarine (feature film)

Pearl Jam - "Do the Evolution"

The video for the 5th track on Pearl Jam's 1998 "Yield" album featured a collaborative effort between Kevin Altieri, a director from Batman the Animated Series and Todd McFarlane, the well-known comic book artist.

The video, which took a total of 16 weeks to produce, was the first to be released by Pearl Jam after their catastrophic experience with the video for "Jeremy" off of their hit album "Ten".

Watching the video, Altieri's Batman directing experience and McFarlane's unique style shine through. The video and song were never monster hits, but it remains a shining example of a well thought-out merging of animation and music. Click on the image below to check it out!


(Unfortunately, Sony BMG has disabled embedding for this video)

Song: Do The Evolution
Artist: Pearl Jam
Animation: Original

Matthew Sweet - "Girlfriend"

The video for the title track off of Matthew Sweet's 1991 album featured footage from the Japanese animation series "Space Adventure Cobra". Together with his video for "I've Been Waiting", Sweet introduced many American viewers to the world of anime, which was still relatively new to the US at the time.



Song: Girlfriend
Artist: Matthew Sweet
Animation: Space Adventure Cobra

Tom Petty - "Runnin' Down a Dream"

For the first entry on AMV TV, a video featuring both original music and original animation. Tom Petty's video for "Runnin' Down a Dream" from his hit 1989 album "Full Moon Fever" features animation reminiscent of 1930s and 1940s cartoons, and was extremely innovative for its time.

Original music, original animation, catchy tune... what more could you ask for? Click on the image below to view the video!


(Unfortunately, Universal Music Group has disabled embedding for this video)

Song: Runnin' Down a Dream
Artist: Tom Petty
Animation: Original